This week I am very excited to welcome Sharmila Mehta, UK immigration lawyer and Partner at Keystone Law, into the studio to discuss how ‘Partner’ can mean different things at different law firms. A self-proclaimed ‘lawyer through and through’, Sharmila helped me obtain my British passport several decades ago and has worked in several different large UK law firms throughout her career.

In this episode, Sharmila outlines her fascinating journey into law having moved to the UK from Kenya at the age of 5, growing a curious and fearless attitude towards how the world and the UK in particular works, and working at several different UK firms before becoming a Partner at Keystone law today.

This journey introduces a variety of other interesting points on law and life in the UK, including:

· Living in the UK as a dual citizen and the challenges of moving to the UK at a young age;

· Growing up as young woman in school in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s and being taught to be assertive, inquisitive and speak up.

· Taking calculated risks during a career as a lawyer and a mother;

· What partner means these days vs what it used to mean and whether making partner is becoming a business of running a law firm and not necessarily being a lawyer’?

· Realising that as a lawyer you’re not just part of the wider brand of the firms you work for, you have your own brand that you build throughout your career.

And stay tuned to hear about the driving force behind Sharmila’s work as an immigration lawyer – how to make the UK better, through the energy, innovation and desire to succeed that migrants have always and continue to bring to this country.

In this episode, I invite Charlie Davidson, Property Solicitor at Bishop & Sewell, into the studio to discuss creating a personal brand as a lawyer. Charlie has built quite a following on LinkedIn through his persona as the ‘Hound of Holborn’, regularly posting about all things property law and life in general.

His journey leading to ‘The Hound’, into and within property law is a fascinating one that opens up all sorts of conversations, including:

· Finding your feet in the world of law;

· Challenges and opportunities presented by Covid on property law, particularly through remote working;

· How to stand out on LinkedIn and the impact this can have on your work as a lawyer;

· The future of law: AI will not replace lawyers, but those who don’t use it to assist them will fall behind those that do.

And stay tuned to hear how our shared love for WWE links to Charlie’s creation the ‘Hound of Holborn’ persona, using the three piece suits to build a character that delivers confidence and builds trust with clients.

In this episode, I invite Charles Anderson into the studio, Legal Director at MET Group and author, to discuss practicing law across the globe. Charles’ fascinating journey through the world of law has taken him from Melbourne to Moscow via London and Paris, finally ending up in Switzerland where he practices today.

Along this journey, we discuss:

• Balancing risk and reward when choosing to work abroad;
• The appeal of London in the late 90s;
• The challenges of working with different languages;
• How Charles has managed working in a host of different jurisdictions, each with a distinct approach to practicing law.

And stay tuned till the end to hear how Charles found himself being deported from Russia immediately after landing in Moscow airport.